We’re taking a tour back through our MMO coverage, month by month, to hit the highlights and frame our journey before we launch into 2020 and a whole new decade of MMOs!
May was a staggeringly good month for us here on MOP as we were inundated with big stories: EVE Online’s Invasion launched, Guild Wars 2 dropped War Eternal, we peeked into Elder Scrolls Online’s Elsweyr and Final Fantasy XIV’s Shadowbringers, and the City of Heroes drama wore on. Plus, WoW Classic’s beta finally began. In unhappier news, Riot Games staffers walked out, Blizzard’s financials took a nasty tumble, and lockbox regulation made headlines once again.
Read on for the whole list from May of this past year!
TOP NEWS STORIES OF MAY 2019
Blizzard decides to skip Gamescom 2019 as part of cost-cutting efforts
City of Heroes’ rogue servers nerf AE farms, boost XP, but can’t do character transfers
Shroud of the Avatar developers address Kickstarter reward novel fulfillment, SEC filings
Forbes characterizes Star Citizen’s development as ‘incompetence and mismanagement on a galactic scale’
Anthem appears to have lost several prominent upper staff members
Activision-Blizzard Q1 2019: Revenue has dropped by nearly a quarter since last quarter
Star Wars MMOs pay tribute to the life of Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew
Riot says it will allow arbitration opt-outs, eventually, but it probably won’t stave off the walkout
The Internet Historian video lays out the sad saga of Fallout 76
Riot Games developers did indeed walk out in protest last night over the ongoing labor and lawsuit fiasco
City of Heroes: New servers, Discord drama, and Homecoming gets $6900 in donations in 20 minutes
New World is taking its 24-7 alpha offline for implementation of ‘major new features’
ZeniMax has begun pre-production on a AAA game set in a major new IP
Anthem intentionally removes special loot chests and accidentally removes boss loot drops
Conan Exiles is launching The Riddle of Steel DLC to honor the 1982 Conan movie
US Senator takes aim at lockboxes and pay-to-win with ‘Protecting Children From Abusive Games Act’
Elder Scrolls Online yanks allegedly plagiarized Elsweyr-themed pen-and-paper adventure
Star Citizen’s latest concept ship sale is actually for… motorcycles
Final Fantasy XIV producer letter addresses gender-locking and job balance in Shadowbringers
Age of Conan celebrates 11 years of operation with an anniversary event
RIFT to merge European servers and kill open PvP shard
City of Heroes community forms Round Table as Homecoming rogue servers count over 56,000 players
Anime MMO Caravan Stories announces July 16 beta, July 23 launch on PlayStation 4
Dungeons and Dragons Online: Masterminds of Sharn launches today
World of Warcraft Classic launches August 26, with CBT tomorrow and stress tests beginning next week
Star Trek Online’s Rise of Discovery boldly goes onto PC today, consoles June 25
Square-Enix posts annual revenues up, MMO revenues down with ‘brisk’ subs ahead of FFXIV expansion
Tree of Life heads into maintenance mode today as studio Oddone moves to new projects
Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones shoves off its launch to next year – or beyond
Shroud of the Avatar addresses CEO confusion, playerbase ‘re-engagement campaign’
Riot Games isn’t budging on labor dispute even after employee walkout
Ex-Cryptic Studios artist decries ‘harmful’ video game lockbox designs based on slot machines
A side-by-side comparison of World of Warcraft’s graphics in Classic and Battle for Azeroth
Elder Scrolls Online’s Elsweyr early access has begun
The pieces needed to build a WildStar emulator have been posted online
Dauntless launches on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and the Epic Games Store with full crossplay functionality
City of Heroes: All the public servers we know of, plus Reddit’s launch and Homecoming’s name release
Path of Exile’s blast-from-the-past Legion League revamps melee and crushes complexity creep on June 7
Black Desert’s Underwater Ruins expansion is live today, with Star’s End planned for June 5
Anti-lootbox Senator claims gaming lobbyists are getting worried; Nintendo pulls mobile titles from Belgium over lootboxes
Funcom is now working on seven new games with 15 total projects, according to Q1 2019 financials
Sources now confirm the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic movie – and it’s a trilogy
MMORPG Astellia launches preorders, plans June closed beta, and rejects gender-locking
Final Fantasy XIV releases job action trailer, benchmarks, and 16M player count ahead of Shadowbringers
The Invasion begins with EVE Online’s latest expansion
‘Gaming disorder’ has been officially added to the World Health Organization’s ICD-11
New MMO Starbase pretty much sounds like EverQuest Next in space plus robots
Worlds Adrift to close in July with ‘End of the World Party’
Trove’s Going Green gardening-overhaul update is live today
FAVORITE EDITORIALS OF MAY 2019
Perfect Ten: Tips for fighting an MMORPG boss for the first time
Tamriel Infinium: ‘Dying’ to know more about Necromancers in The Elder Scrolls Online
Vague Patch Notes: MMOs are not the same as your single-player games with servers
WoW Factor: Why Legion 2 wouldn’t win back the World of Warcraft crowd
Lawful Neutral: The war over Star Citizen in Crytek v. Cloud Imperium Games
Wandering Wraeclast: Path of Exile studio Grinding Gear Games earns respect by showing respect
The Game Archaeologist: Minions of Mirth
Fight or Kite: The case for dueling in Guild Wars 2
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood in review – leveling content
Massively Uplifting: Destigmatizing mental health in games, celebrating loved ones in LOTRO, Guild Wars 2, and Elite
Choose My Adventure: Getting back in to the groove of Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Daily Grind: What would get you to throw money at your MMO?
Perfect Ten: Disney movies are all MMO experiences
Leaderboard: Would you donate for a City of Heroes rogue server?
Desert Oasis: How AFKing in Black Desert is more productive than you think
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR takes us to Dantooine for the fifth time in a video game
Wisdom of Nym: Where is our last area for Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers?
WoW Factor: Guessing at the next World of Warcraft expansion announcement using math
The Daily Grind: Are we watching the AAA video game market burst?
LOTRO Legendarium: My vision for free-to-play version 2.0
The Survivalist: The highs and lows of Conan Exiles, one year after launch
The Daily Grind: Are you concerned about the future of Amazon’s New World?
Not So Massively: Mourning the wasted potential of Trion’s Defiance
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood in review – expert dungeons
EVE Evolved: What really sets Russian EVE players apart?
The Daily Grind: Do you still want a Game of Thrones MMORPG?
Flameseeker Chronicles: First impressions of Guild Wars 2’s War Eternal
Choose My Adventure: The thrilling escapades of a Star Wars: The Old Republic sniper
The Daily Grind: Do you think WoW Classic is destined for greatness or utterly doomed?
Tamriel Infinium: Ranking the Elder Scrolls Online’s expansions and DLC to date
Perfect Ten: The 10 most adorable MMORPGs ever
The Daily Grind: Do you have any hope left for Anthem?
WoW Factor: Thoughts on the impending arrival of WoW Classic
Into the Super-verse: Getting to know City of Heroes all over again
Massively Overthinking: Unpopular MMORPG opinions
First impressions: World of Warcraft Classic is exactly what it says on the tin
Hyperspace Beacon: Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes satisfies that Star Wars fix, but there’s a catch
Lawful Neutral: What DMCA exemption victories really mean for MMO preservation
The Survivalist: What ever happened to the smaller survival sandbox MMOs?
Fight or Kite: Features MMOs could borrow from successful esports titles
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood in review – the trials
MMO Cartographer: Climbing the Tree of Savior
Choose My Adventure: My story begins to twist in Star Wars: The Old Republic
Not So Massively: Eden Rising provides a low-stress riff on survival games
Desert Oasis: In praise of the charmingly chaotic Black Desert community
Perfect Ten: Helpful tips for returning to City of Heroes in 2019
The Daily Grind: What could your favorite MMO do to attract new players?
Vague Patch Notes: On fans and fanboys in MMORPGs
WoW Factor: Crazy speculation on turning back the clock for World of Warcraft
LOTRO Legendarium: How LOTRO does Lord of the Rings justice
EVE Evolved: Getting ready for the Invasion in EVE Online
The Daily Grind: What made you leave the last MMO you quit?
Wisdom of Nym: Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers in benchmark and letter form
Not So Massively: StarCraft II co-op is one of online gaming’s greatest hidden gems
Flameseeker Chronicles: Why Guild Wars 2 has my favorite flying mounts
Warframe of Mind: Should Digital Extremes ditch RNG in endgame loot drops?
MassivelyOP’s Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers media tour coverage
Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers tour: An interview with Naoki Yoshida
Not So Massively: First impressions of Conan Unconquered
Tamriel Infinium: Massively OP’s guide to The Elder Scrolls Online’s cash shop
Vague Patch Notes: Don’t take it personal, it just ain’t your (MMO) story
Massively Overthinking: Tackling the ‘big four MMOs’ meme
Tamriel Infinium: Keep playing Elder Scrolls Online’s Elsweyr – the story gets better
WoW Factor: Why do people remember classic WoW being so much harder than it actually was?
Lawful Neutral: Why Josh Hawley’s lockbox regulation Senate bill is dead-on-arrival
Some Assembly Required: Will Starbase’s focus on minutiae be too much of a good thing?
ALL 2019 YEAR-IN-REVIEW POSTS SO FAR
MMO Year in Review: Anthem’s approach (January 2019)
MMO Year in Review: The mass Blizzard and ArenaNet layoffs (February 2019)
MMO Year in Review: Black Desert’s console rollout (March 2019)
MMO Year in Review: City of Heroes’ resurrection (April 2019)
MMO Year in Review: EVE’s Invasion, WoW Classic’s beta (May 2019)
MMO Year in Review: Shadowbringers, Elsweyr, and Azshara (June 2019)
MMO Year in Review: Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMO (July 2019)
MMO Year in Review: You think you do, but… yeah, you do (August 2019)
MMO Year in Review: Guild Wars 2’s saga and Astellia Online (September 2019)
MMO Year in Review: The month of gaming industry self-owns (October 2019)
MMO Year in Review: A ‘tough Hearthstone esports moment’ (November 2019)
MMO Year in Review: New World, Magic Legends, and ESO Skyrim (December 2019)
